“The Christian community in Kerala is dwindling. We realized that if the numbers decreased further, it would have a negative impact on the community,” said Babu Joseph, spokesman for the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India in New Delhi (Wa Po)."
I think what dude really means is that as the numbers of the Christian community diminishes, then so will his pay check. After all, what is this "negative impact" that he is talking about; really, in what form? Is it that more "evil" (whatever that is) will manifest in daily life, cause there is no proof of that happening. Joseph's statement is in reference to waning numbers of Christians in India and a proposed law to limit the number of children (2) each family can have. Christians were 19.5% of the population in 1991 and currently (their fear is) the percentage is 17 (if atheists had that number we would be totally stoked). Hinduism is the most widely practiced religion and they are rollin' at, like, in the middle 50's.
So the government is all practical-n-stuffs and they proposed, that is PROPOSED, a law that would limit families to two children or face a fine. India is second to China in numbers of peeps and that is not a good thing. Overpopulation is the Ganesh in the room that no one wants to talk about or address. While India has experienced a growing middle class in the 00's, there are still millions upon millions upon millions living in poverty, uneducated and starving, lacking access to clean water and sanitation. While population control may seem severe, it certainly is better than increasing the population.
Again, the bill is proposed and the article says that it is unlikely to pass and become a law. Still, that will not stop the clergy from promoting fear among the peeps. If passed the penalty includes three months in jail and a fine of 10,000 rupees ($200 usda). So I guess this is where clergy goes on the offensive and shows the people the truth of scripture-fo sho that will change the hearts and minds of non-Christian believing Indian peeps, right(?). Wrong, they will go the bribe route. Some churches are offering free education, medical care and even, I can't make this shit up, cash bonuses. Really....really? There is an all powerful and all knowing and all loving Sky Daddy but the best he can do to inspire and increase the number of practitioners is a...bribe. 3rd world, poor, starving and in need of medical help homie cannot turn that down. No one can.
This is why we become atheists. Religion just doesn't make sense. Here we have a country where many are living below the poverty line, are uneducated, do not have any or enuff access to health care, lacking opportunities-n-stuff, children are malnourished or starving etc etc etc...but religion wants to go against a proposed government law and go against common frackin' sense. It seems to this atheist that doing Gawds work (having hella children) does more harm than good. And why do they want to go against common sense...because their congregations are getting smaller and there will be "a negative impact on the community." This is where I say WTF. What fuckin' negative impact on the community.
I dunno maybe there are more important things than having "X" amount of people in the pews, like feeding and housing everyone. Maybe the waning numbers are because, traditionally Indian peeps are more likely to be Hindu or, gasp, Muslim. Are culturally Jewish people freaking out because they do not have "X" amount of Christians in their communities (no).
Maybe the made up idea of a 1/3 man, 1/3 god, 1/3 ghost that was alive over 2,000 y/ago, then dude died, then came back to life, literally rose into the sky to go chill with his dad-who is God, even tho
he is God, so he went to go chill with his self-but he's gonna come back when there is an established Jewish state (Israel), and other "prophecies" come true, and this reanimated Jewish zombie/man/Gawd/ghost is gonna take the very few select believers that chose the correct and one true Christianity (outta a million gazillion that all claim to be the one true religion) to a place not of this erffs and never proven, called Heaven...then his dad (who is also his self) will destroy the world as we know it....
...maybe, just maybe that
idea is not jiving with all the cool Indian kids and that is why the number of Christians in India are diminishing. Just maybe.
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Wa Po article* I also think that the strategy to have more children is because it is easier to indoctrinate, err, brainwash children than an adult. Where ever we see religion growing, we also see it is because children are introduced at a young age, not converting as adults (Hispanic populations, Africa and yes, my Asian peeps).
* Oh yea, and the argument that as society become more secular and godless, then ethics and morals go out the window is dookie. Texas is a very pious state, but they have a super huge prison population and hella murders-n-stuff, versus the Team Atheist example of secular Europe-lower crime and prison population whomps all over that fallacy.
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Previous thoughts on over population.
